We traveled to Eugene to visit with my son. Â We chose this restaurant based on their website. Â We could have a great meal with my son who would be satisfied with a burger. Â We weren't disappointed. Â We started with the Grilled Pears and Prosciutto...WOW. Â It was awesome. Â Next we had the Hanger Steak, done medium rare....WOW again. Â We enjoyed a Hop Valley Vanilla Porter with our meal. Â
We ended the meal with the fantastic Lemon Tart and coffee.
My son enjoyed his burger, which looked great. Â The fries also looked scrumptious. Â He also ordered the fruit plate. Â The presentation of the fruit plate was nearly a work of art. Â Very nice, even better was that the fruit was very good.
Our server was awesome. Â He was attentive without being intrusive. Â It was a very enjoyable experience and we'll definitely return when we come back to Eugene.
Carpaccio and cheese salad with a grilled pear salad with a shave Parna Gardon cheese. Had the scallops which were large and perfectly well done. Finally finished out with the powdered doughnuts and man what a way to finish out a meal. Decor is trendy and upscale and when we came which was on a Sunday evening was nearly empty. A shame for such great food place but a plus for those of us who want more than a hungry man and a beer.
Review Source:I'm really glad I found this place! For people who are in the know in Eugene, this and a few other places really put out great food. The key to their success I am certain of: fresh and locally paired with top shelf service. I don't know if most people realize that most restaurants get their food from a distributor - Ox & Fin might get some of their stuff that way, but their main items like oysters, sausages, meats, greens, etc. all come locally sourced.
My dinner was on a Monday, which as you know most restaurants are closed on Mondays in Eugene, so my first choice "Belly" was not available. However, Ox & Fin didn't disappoint, in fact it may have been even better.
Literally every item on the menu looked hand crafted and something I would love to eat; being in town on business for one day, I asked if they'd make me a special plate, chef's choice. The amazing bartender (he was perhaps one of the best bartenders (for service) I have ever met!) asked me a couple questions, went off and talked to the chef for me, and before I know it, I have my own combo plate! Gnocchi prepared with pancetta and fennel sausage. OMG - this was really amazing and something they should really consider for the main menu.
Of course the beer selection is local and tremendous...
Instead of having a full-sized entreé,  ordered the scallops appetizer as my meal.  These scallops were quite literally cooked to perfection.  I was in love, and the sauce was so unique and went very well with the scallops.
My boyfriend tried duck for the first time at this restaurant, and loved it, from the beautiful presentation to the wonderful pairing of currants to the tenderness of the meat.
I had sorbet for dessert which was wonderful! Â I love the interior of this restaurant, but our table was less than a foot away from the couple next to us, and we were forced to listen to every little bit of their conversation...not very romantic.
The bathrooms are very nice here, but my boyfriend felt awkward in their openness and closeness to the kitchen!
We had a great experience for not too high of a price. Â Good location, good food, but we just were uncomfortably close to our neighbors. Â The service - our waiter was so wonderful and attentive, and really went above and beyond.
I think I miss "old Sfizio." Â
Overall pretty good, but . . . - a few caveats really bumped one of my favorite restaurants down a few stars. Â Ambiance the same; great drinks (used Antica in the Manhattan for a great finish, and excellent blackberry lemondrop - very much in season with local berries; my wife loved the drink!); appetizers very good (watermelon salad, and burata mozzarella out of San Fran still the bomb . . . .).
That said, service was somewhat lacking (server never checked back after dropping off food, until bill was presented/dessert asked about . . . .). Â In addition, my chicken came out sizzling hot on a very room-temp or less bed of mashed potatoes and gravy (yeah, plated too early and waiting the main course under the heat lamp).
This dinner was on an Oregon Ducks game night AFTER the game started - very slow night, and no good reason I could see for anything but excellent service and food.
This will remain one of our favorite spots, but only because it's quite close to where we live, a great bar, and historically great food. Â Great drinks, great appetizers, and so-so entrees and service won't keep this afloat after a $130 bill (before tip) for food and drinks!
I was a little worried when this place changed hands - the last owners were really attention to detail people. Â That said, all my worries were for not. Â The food and wait staff were excellent! Â It was also good to see they kept some of the same great offerings such as the pork loin chop - my favorite - and in my opinion, 'still' the best pork loin chop in town, bar none! Â In addition, the preparation of the meal was actually better than what I had in the past - which is really saying something...I rated 4 stars, because IMHO, the wine selection leaves something to be desired...
Review Source:I had high hopes for the transition from Sfizio to Ox & Fin, but not that much has changed. Actually, the food is much more bland and often burnt. The saving grace is the bartender, although the cocktail selection could be expanded.
Prices seem about the same, if not a little more expensive in sections. A lot of the menu selections look the same, although maybe with new names. Although the listing is 2 $'s, it will easily get into 3 $'s with a drink and appetizer, even if it's shared.
The olives were swimming in oil. The fries were nicely salted, but limp. The pork belly had zero flavor, which is hard to do. The pizza was very well burnt and had a flavorless marinara sauce, plus sparse toppings. The doughnuts were only saved by the dipping sauce because the dough itself tasted just like, well, dough. Incomparable to the Sfizio version that preceded it.
As for the cocktails, all were well prepared and tasted great. The bartender was also an enjoyable conversationalist.
If you plan on going for happy hour, be prepared to sit outside or at the bar because, for some reason, those are the only places you're allowed to sit to order anything on that menu, from 4-6pm.
I'm also disappointed with the simple name change of the location on Yelp because none of the past reviews should have anything to do with the restaurant in its current form.
Edit: Wow, I just heard from a fellow Yelper that Sfizio will be re-oping as the Ox and Tail soon, a steak and fish restaurant. That's very disappointing. There are numerous steak and fish places in Eugene already, the one thing this city needed was a high quality, authentic Italian restaurant. I think if they adjusted their portions or prices a little, Sfizio would do better. I doubt I'll go there once it's the Ox and Tail, I already have my favorite places to go for fish and steak.
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Sfizio is easily the most authentic Italian restaurant in town, and probably for quite some distance from Eugene (I have yet to find a similarly authentic place in Portland). God knows why I haven't written a review for Sfizio before, since I'm actually a big fan.
I love the interior. Beautifully designed, plenty of comfortable booths, gorgeous quality wooden tables, and a warm, somewhat open yet intimate, private layout. Service has been outstanding too, from a number of different waiters. Very personable yet appropriately polite and attentive for a restaurant with class.
Let me introduce you to the last course first: I had a chocolate budino tart with olive oil and sea salt here that was truly divine. The outer, crunchy cookie shell held together a soft, thick and creamy center. Though it's called budino (Italian for pudding), the filling is not really pudding like, more like a rich, whipped truffle interior. This unimaginably rich dessert was topped with beautiful olive oil that melted into the chocolate to make it incredibly smooth. The coarse grey sea salt on top was the brilliant finishing touch that elevated the dish from an amazing dessert to one of the best things I ever ate.
The other main reason I like Sfizio is because, unlike most American "Italian" restaurants, Sfizio offers the Italian staple of Carpaccio. Rarely is it served properly in the U.S., especially on the West Coast. Inevitably, if it is served at all, someone turns it into smoked salmon, lightly grilled meat, or whatever else makes the idea of raw meat more palatable to people. Sfizio has a true carpaccio, and while I've had better in Italy (and I've consumed vast amounts of carpaccio over the years, I used spend several weeks per year in Italy with my family).
The pasta are beautiful as well, especially the sausage Rigatoni in a tomato cream sauce. I do have a bit of a problem with their portion sizes, particularly at lunch. They are TINY, and quite expensive, though the price is justified by the obvious quality and culinary talent and precision visible and tastable in the dishes. I've posted a picture here of a plate of Rigatoni, and that's truly the whole dish. Looks like a "side" of pasta, to be honest, though at least it comes with large chunks of hearty sausage and a side of salad (the salad is larger than a normal side salad, so that helps).
Of the sandwiches I've only tried the egg salad one. That was the most disappointing thing I've had at Sfizio. Very bland, tiny sandwich on thick bread with barely any egg salad (and that's coming from someone who normally scrapes OFF half the salad because it's too much at most places). No flavor. That's really the only thing I've had at Sfizio's though that didn't taste amazing.
Finally, I should add that I have since managed to duplicate the chocolate budino tart, quite successfully, but discovered in the process that it takes about eight HOURS to make, about half of which are actual labor. (Just in case you thought I meant eight hours of waiting and watching TV)
Real quality Italian food! Â Super professional waiters, the place is nice, the food is great.
We went there the night before my friend was going to compete in the Olympic Trials, she wanted very clean Italian food. Â Sfizio was great, we had a nice quiet booth and nice selections of food. Â I could see this being a great date spot, for the second or third date when you want to eat great food and be able to talk intimately in a private booth. Â It's not what I expected in a restaurant in a mall; Sfizio is very sleek and cool. Â
I'll keep this place on my list!
Sfizio is my favorite restaurant in Eugene.
I've eaten dinner here twice. First time I shared the manila clams, oysters, roasted beet salad, bucatini, ravioli, and affogato. Everything was amazing!
Earlier tonight I took my dad here for Father's Day and again, everything was out of this world! We shared octopus, grilled treviso salad, fetuccine, rigatoni, and another affogato. Not only was every dish wonderful, again, but the service was really good and our waiter timed the dishes perfectly. Plus she was super patient and helpful as I asked her to describe things that I hadn't heard of such as treviso and guanciale.
The complimentary jugs of mineral water are a nice touch.
Sfizio isn't bad, but it was really overrated when it first opened. Â Maybe my expectations were too high. Â The food is decent, but nothing really that special. Â
The strip-mall location is pretty bad and it doesn't really get better when you walk inside. Â This place dind't feel very Eugene which is fine if you're bringing me some high quality food. Â
Just an awkward restaurant with very slightly above average food IMO...
This past weekend I visited my mother in Eugene. Â As a early Mother's Day celebration, we visited Sfizio for lunch. Â It was hands down the best meal I have ever had at Sfizio. Â
We split the house salad, which had a great light, peppery dressing over organic greens. Â Next up, we split the collard green rabe. Â I had never had rabe before and did not know what to expect. Â Spring garlic was used in the dish as a flavoring - it was great! Â The greens were tender and very tasty. Â As our main dish, we both ordered the salmon due to the waitress saying it was "fresh, fresh, fresh." Â And it was! Â It was one of the most delicious salmons I have ever tried. Â The fish was served on a bed of creamed celery root. Â The celery was delicate and not in the least overpowering. Â For dessert, we both split the meringue. Â The meringue was sandwiched between layers of Chantilly cream - out of this world and very unique - I have never seen anything like it. Â Not only was this dessert delicious, but it was beautiful to look at.
This meal totally worked - we experienced savory, sweet, creamy and dreamy. Â Can't wait to visit my mother again in Eugene so that we can try Sfizio again.
Walked in at 4:45pm on a Saturday and the place was empty, save one table outside. From halfway across the room a manager type told us that he was expecting a busy night and that we should "go check with the hostess to see if we can be seated." Instead we walked over to Sabai (Thai) and were greeted by a welcoming staff and had wonderful meal. I suggest you do same.
Review Source:::edit::
we haven't been back to this reincarnation. Maybe we will...maybe we won't. We definitely would have gone back to sfazio though.
One of the best meals i've had in Eugene!
We finally dragged our happy a$$es to Sfizio for dinner and drinks. It was FABULOUS!!!
We started with the spinach salad. The perfect compliment of greens and saltiness, with a dash of sweet t o round it out.
Next we had Brussels sprouts. I thought I didn't like them until this dish. The balance of salted ham and roasted goodness made these divine.
As an entree I had the game hen and Jae had the rigatoni. Mine was scrumptious, the bean salad was a nice contrast is taste and texture. The mashed parsnips were so much better than potatoes. Jae's pasta was yummy! It had a lovely bit if heat from the chilli's and the homemade sausage was rich with delicate flavors.
Dessert of Bocona dole was also quite good. I loved the meringue and custard combination. True to form a great cup of coffee was the finale to this fantastic mouthgasm.
We'll be back!
Hands down the best restaurant in Eugene. In a city that appears locked in a time warp this place certainly stands out. Total integrity to the product. Sit at the chefs counter and watch the production of the food. Too many Yelpers who love to bitch - ignore them and check this place out. In a city dying for good restaurants this place stands at or near the top.
Review Source:It was day 2 of our little Oregon college hopping jaunt, and that meant down to Eugene, where my niece, who's a student at U of O was going to give my son a campus tour. Â I stayed in the motel so as not to taint the experience by having someone over 30 present. Â Besides, it was raining and cold, so let them deal with it, right? Â I'd promised dinner for all when they returned. Â As I often do, I tried to find an intersection between good Yelps and Opentable points, which is a little tricky in Eugene, where there aren't a lot that meet either of those criteria.
We settled on this place which sounded good, but as seems to be the case with everything we encounter in Oregon, involves taking a bridge to the other side of the river. Â At least the trek was more straightforward than those in Portland, and we got there without much confusion. Â It's in what passes for a sort of high end shopping center in Eugene, and the interior is sort of trendy, with very high ceilings, concrete floors, exposed ducting. Â It looked good, but if it had been more crowded (there were only 2-3 dinner tables occupied and one or two bar hightops) I think it would have been noisy.
The menu provided several good options in each category. Â The two younger people at the table are not veg lovers, and were just ordering pasta, so I skipped having an opener, although I was eyeing the red beets, fried chick peas & gorgonzola dolce, which was reasonably priced at $9. Â I ordered one glass ( and only one since I'm the designated driver on this trip) of the house red, Â which was a tasty Benton-Lane Pinot Noir,
My son had the rigatoni with fennel sausage, chili, bietola chard, rosa sauce & pecorino.  He inhaled it, and I could see he would gladly have eaten more.  The sauce was a lovely color and texture with what looked like just the right proportions of sausage and chard.  My niece opted for the capellini which included clams, baby squid, dungeness crab, tomato concassé, garlic, white wine & tarragon.  She's a pretty unsophisticated diner, even for a 19 year old, but interested in branching out.  She asked me about what tomato concasse and  tarragon were.  Tarragon is one of my least favorite herbs, but I tried to describe it without prejudice.  I could tell she was kind of lukewarm about the dish, not terribly fond of the tarragon and avoided the squid entirely.  It looked nicely prepared, and I appreciated again that not only did the seafood to pasta ratio look just right, but it leaned towards the Italian style of not over saucing.
Since I forfeited my starter, I went for an entree with some vegetative matter and selected the pan-roasted game hen, radicchio, cannellini bean salad & balsamic. Â The bird was perfectly cooked - juicy, tender, with a crisp skin. Â It was, however a little over salted. Â I think it was brined which contributed to it's juiciness, but perhaps the brine should have been titrated with a little less salt. Â The salad underneath had great components, but the beans were a tad underdone and the radicchio would, I think have benefited from having been a bit wilted. Â It just seemed too raw, although I appreciated the crunch. Â They both claimed to be too full for dessert. Â This later proved to be a fib, at least on my son's part, since he requested a trip through the drive-thru at the Wendy's next to our motel for a bacon cheese burger after we'd dropped off my niece.
The whole dinner (not including Wendy's) came to an incredibly reasonable $70, without tax (there is no sales tax in Oregon!) or tip. Â I'd definitely come back here for solid food, interesting choices and good prices, if I lived anywhere nearby.
Food: Â 33/40
Service: Â 17/20
Atm/intangibles: Â 16/20
Value: Â 18/20
Total: Â 84/100 = B= 4stars
Pretty nice. Â I was fortunate enough to be a guest for a special fundraising dinner at Sfizio last week. Â It was a fixed four-course meal, with each of the courses paired with a different (groan. . .) Ninkasi beer. Â Before each course we were treated to a short verbal overview from the head chef, Rocky, which was especially nice because he visibly would have preferred to stay in the background. Â He was followed each time by a longer and maybe less interesting monologue from the Ninkasi fella, Jamie. Â
Overall, Sfizio definitely lived up to the strong reputation it seems to have developed in a short time.
The first course was the strongest--it contained a super-soft mozzarella cheese that was one of the best things I've tasted.
The main course, sadly, was the weakest. Â "roman-style" Chicken (i.e. breaded and baked) that was too dry.
Dessert was an ice-cream type dish that was super creamy, super rich. Â (There's a technical Italian term for this that I'm forgetting because it has been a few days)
Paired with wine, or with better beer, the overall meal might have made more sense, but I don't think I can blame Sfizio for this.
The interior was pleasant and, depending on where you sit, you can momentarily forget that you in the heart of the soulless hell that is Oakway Center.
Like I said, I was fortunate enough to be someone else's guest, so I might go with only three stars if I had to pay the bill myself. Â We'll see, as I would guess I'll return one of these days. Â For upscale Italian in Eugene, this is a really nice change of pace from the creamy-monopoly of Beppe & Gianni's, and is definitely worth an evening out.
There is something about "green" restaurants that seems inherently disappointing. Â Osteria Sfizio was no exception.
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Food: Out of four possible stars, two stars.
I ordered the Sfizi (fennel sausage with clams and tomato). Frankly, I have to say the flavors were there, but they did not stand out in the bold manner that I've come to expect from Italian cooking.
Our party ordered the raw artichoke with shallots to share. It is very hard to do raw artichoke well, and Osteria did well.
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Miscellaneous: Out of one possible star. No stars.
Being "green" and "upscale" does not give waiters license to be rude or unhelpful. Osteria is lucky that I place four times as much value on the food than everything else.
I made reservations for this place before a show thinking that the restaurant would be busy during peak dinner hour. Â It wasn't. Â We were seated promptly by the sliding door, which was perfect because the unfamiliar sun was beaming brightly. Â That was a nice touch to our meal.
I ordered the sfizio after a recommendation from our server. Â It was a great choice! Â I didn't think I was going to get full off of the 1/2 plate because I thought it was small, but, boy, was I wrong. Â I loved the light sauce and the seafood in my dish. Â It was delicious and definitely one of my favorite pasta dishes ever! Â My friend ordered fried octopus and was a little disappointed because she thought she was going to be able to make a meal out if that alone. Â Our server told informed us that a lot of people make the octopus dish a meal. Â Uh... those people have tiny stomachs then! Â Despite its size, my friend said it tasted good. Â We had a light white wine to go with our meal. Â The bread sticks were extremely salty. Â I was kind of disappointed that the restaurant opted for that... Â
Our server was decent. Â She wasn't awful, but wasn't fantastic.
Overall a good experience and I look forward to another dining experience here.
After a very long and sometimes brutal hike near Reedsport, my sister and I got a tip from one in our group about Sfizio in Eugene (where the carpool dropped us off).
We were starving. We were a tiny bit muddy. We were largely impressed.
Our tipster told us that even with a reservation, it's possible to wait for a table at Sfizio. The secret: ask to sit at the bar.
We walked right in. No one blinked an eye at our slightly muddy, hat-head selves.
Let me back up just a tiny bit: Â Sfizio is in the middle of Oakway Center --- a Eugene shopping mall. On top of that, the restaurant is tucked back into a courtyard sporting benches and tall trees. Lots of delicious contradiction here. Okay, onward.
The place is pretty big, nicely decorated, and has a fantastic bar which overlooks the kitchen as well as the bar/espresso area.
The wait staff is friendly, hip, and rather good looking.
The menu is extensive, and, I assume, it must change on a regular basis, since this is what the website has under "Dinner:"
"Regional Italian cuisine, prepared using the best ingredients the Pacific Northwest has to offer."
Upshot of this: you don't have to suffer through your mouth watering from the time you read the website menu to the time you get to your table. It's merely minutes, sted of an hour or so.
I was a little bit cold from our hike, so I asked for a cup of tea. Loose-leaf tea came in a sweet little metal pot, the cup's saucer sported a thin and delicious biscotti, tiny spoon offered a sweet little sugar cube. Perfect .
The blood orange salad with arugula was incredible. My sister and I split the bruschetta appetizer: a twist with mushrooms on top, and a lovely goat cheese with olive oil and salt.
I got manila clams for my main course --- a generous amount, perfect in their garlic/clam juice/wine/butter goodness. And two honkin' pieces of crusty bread for dipping.
My sister got the deep-fried soft-shell crab. I'm not sure I agree with deep-frying a soft-shell crab, but she loved it.
The wine list is healthy, the cocktails sounded delicious. Beer is not my friend anymore -- I rely on my husband's expertise for that --- so I ignored the list. My sister had a lovely glass of red -- I regret that I was simply too tired to drink or pay attention to her beverage.
The service was excellent, and watching the kitchen work during our meal was rather cool. Bar seats with kitchen views are my fave.
We needed to high-tail it back to Portland, so we eschewed the dessert list -- though the couple next to us got the donuts, and we heard they're pretty amazing. I had a most-excellent Americano instead -- just what I needed to spirit us home.
I will indeed be back to Sfizio, and highly recommend it the next time you're in/near/on the way home from the Eugene area.
Excellent food and decent cocktails. Two major reservations:
First, the food and drinks are a bit pricey-- especially compared to the likes of Belly downtown. Sfizio is great if your folks or your employer is paying for the meal. Less so if you're paying for it.
Second, this place is basically in a strip mall-- albeit a very nice part of a very nice strip mall. Even so, they do a pretty decent job with the interior, so it doesn't fell like you're eating next door to an Old Navy and Bed, Bath and Beyond. But you just can't shake that feeling.
"Lackluster."
That was the single word response of the party of two sitting across from us when the server (finally) appeared at the end of their meal and asked "How was everything?"
By the end of our meal we thought the other diners' single word captured it for us too. Although we might add "disappointing" to the list given we had such high expectations going in.
Here's why we give this only two stars, which means we won't be back nor recommend it. We realize every restaurant can have a bad day and maybe we just hit this place on one of their worst ones. But with so many restaurants and so little time, welll..."meh" all around.
SERVICE: While "green" is a good thing in other areas, like building practices, in restaurant service not so much. And when wait staff is as green as the staff here was, it says the owner is not paying attention to front of house quality.
With that kind of criticism, grounding examples are only fair. So, I'll provide some.
The table next to us waited and waited and waited for their meal and yet the server was non existent. When the meal was finally served and they asked what was the delay, he said "The kitchen and I had a discussion.." That was it.
When we placed our order, again after a long delay after being seated (and the place was NOT full), we were informed that a choice of salad came with the meal - romaine or mixed greens. I asked if the romaine was served Caesar style. Yes, he guessed so, was the response. Will there be raw egg in the dressing, I asked. He had no idea, he said, but there would be sardines. I asked do you mean anchovies. He replied, I guess so, a small fish.
Ta dum. Except he didn't intend it to be funny. And he seemed a nice, sincere guy who we assume wanted to do a good job but lacked the training and front of house supervision follow up to get there.
Then a long delay for our food and during that time, no return to the table by the server to fill water glasses or keep us apprised.
Even after the food arrived (delivered by someone other than our server, one assumes to ensure it arrived hot from the kitchen), no check in by the server to ask how things were until quite a long time had passed.. Too long to resolve a problem had there been one. We asked for crushed pepper. As I type this, we're still waiting on the server to deliver it to the table.
FOOD: Once again, the couple across from us captured our feelings too when, as they were eating one of them said to the other, "this food is pretty bland". Not what we expected from an Italian restaurant where the owner / chef has a background in the kitchen of one of Eugene's finest restaurants, Marche, and also has a name that ends in a vowel. (Although to debunk the myth that all Italians can cook Italian food, I offer that my 100% Italian mother in law was likely the world's worst cook of Italian food. And so says even my hubby, who also has 100% Italian heritage. ;-) )
Not that all was terrible for the food, some things were gotten right that suggest a professional is in charge in the kitchen. As example, the bucatini pasta was cooked to perfect al dente texture and arrived at the table hot. The calamari stew had a good amount of calamari in it, tentacles too which is a very good thing, and they were perfectly tender and included fregola, one of our favorite pastas and not often found on menus.
But the same sauce that seemed to have been used for both dishes seemed devoid of seasoning. Pretty bland. Forgettable.
We didn't find the food good enough to want to finish the meals and waited with the uneaten food in front of us for quite a long time before the server appeared to ask "Can I get these plates out of the way?" He did not ask "How was everything?" I guess he knew what the answer might be given we didn't eat the food.
AMBIANCE: I can see how the trendy high ceilinged, brightly lit space might resonate for a lively sort of "bar vibe". But it didn't fill the bill for us for ambiance for fine Italian country dining. It seemed more "Olive Garden" than "Lupa" for ambiance. Simply different strokes for different folks on that. And the entry of the restaurant and separation of the spaces seemed awkward to us too.
MENU: Creative. Too bad that on our visit neither the service nor the ambiance nor the preparation of the food delivered on the "northwest meets Italian country cooking" promise of the menu.  We were anticipating a Lidia Bastianich experience...we got Guy Fieri  Metaphorically speaking. ;-)
VALUE: Portion sizes were ample without being over the top large, so that's a good thing, and the price of the food also seemed reasonable.
BOTTOM LINE: With the "buzz" for Osteria Sfizio, and we see that it garnered some "best new Eugene restaurant" award too, we realize we're the odd man out to be unenthused about our experience. But there are enough good restaurants in Eugene that this one won't be on our list for a return visit.
My experience here started out slow. Â My friend and I were seated in this booth next to the kitchen. Â The hostess did a great job, but our server didn't come until my friend stared at someone. Â It took at least a good 5-10 minutes for a server to realize no one was taking care of our table. Â It's understandable because I don't think the table we were seated at gets used much or at all. Â So after that little hiccup, everything was gold. Â I like Osteria Sfizio a lot. Â
Comfortable setting, warm lighting, and a very non-Eugene feel! Â The food is good, very tasty. Â The service is good. Â Really, when it comes down to it, this place is a gem. Â They have complimentary sparkling water. Â
There was a birthday dinner across from our booth and it was fun singing happy birthday along with the other table. Â Overall, this place is not too fancy and not cheap. Â It's a nice spot.
Trendy. Â
Whoo!
For anyone who knows Portland, the Oakway Center is trying it's damndest to be Bridgeport Plaza. Â Which is alright, since there isn't much of that in Eugene, but it can't -quite- pull it off. Â With empty store-fronts, nothing really compelling out of the big box stores, and sort of tucked away on a commercial street, it's got a lot of obstacles to overcome.
Osteria Sfizio is doing it's best though. Â When I arrived home after work, tired and with achy feet, I was asked (told) that we should go to a really good Italian restaurant. Â My dear sweet wife's first thought was Olive Garden. Â When I replied, "I thought you said -good- Italian?" she muttered that she liked the Italian doughnuts at Olive Garden.
Regardless, I hit Yelp and found out about Osteria Sfizio. Â We decided to give it a shot. Â
The ambiance is top notch. Â Very relaxing atmosphere and very tasteful. Â Except for the elk head on the wall. Â Tres out of place. Â Also, as I saw mentioned, it's a little disconcerting to walk past a table and into the bathroom, with nary a door between you and the head. Â There are, in fact, doors to the stalls, but know that you are being timed by several tables with views.
When we arrived, there was no wait. Â It was a weekday around six. Â Before we left, though, there was a waiting line. Â We also were very leisurely in our meal, though not really by choice. Â As I looked around, it appeared that the attitude of the owners and employees of Osteria Sfizio is very European, in that the eating of an evening meal is an experience, and should be enjoyed over conversation, wine, and subtle digestion.
That being said, it was sometimes long waits between seeing a waitress and getting our food stuffs. Â But when she was there, she was very good. Â The menu can be disconcerting, in that while it's in English, some things can only be said in Italian. Â So if you don't know what that particular item is, you must look rather gauche and ask. Â I had no problem asking. Â
The bread provided wasn't very good, but mostly because of our personal taste. Â We prefer soft, thick bread. Â They provide long, thin hard bread, almost like cracker sticks. Â I get it, I get the concept, I honestly do, I just don't like it that much.
We had an appetizer of some rice, molded around a bit of cheese and pork, and then deep fried. Â Honestly, it was rather bland. Â We expected more flavour, but the meat provided nothing, the cheese was minuscule, and the rice had a thick texture without much taste. Â Oh well.
My wife had squid ink linguine, which she said was very good, and I had a pasta in light red sauce, with hand-made fennel sausage. Â Mine was very good and I enjoyed all of it. Â I ate more than I wanted to, which I do my damndest to avoid, but it was just too good to waste.
Now, my wife loves her deserts. Â I can take or leave it, but I do enjoy it when I take it. Â She had a custard, that was frozen in a loaf and then sliced, rather thickly, and covered with a kind of cream sauce, I believe. Â She loved hers.
I got the sfizi doughnuts. Â Just doughnuts, really. Â They came with a thick cream sauce for dunking. Â And instead of being just sugared, they had a tiny bit of salt mixed in.
Oh. Â My. Â God. Â This was honestly the best desert I've ever had next to an exquisite chocolate souffle from Morton's in Portland. Â I crammed my face with these things. Â The salt so perfectly opened up the sweetness of sugar and dough, I was in absolute heaven. Â My wife, being strange and weird, said she preferred the Olive Garden ones. Â I called her a heathen and didn't share after that. Â They were to die for, and if I could, I would eat them in my grave.
Drinks were standard, although their wine list looked rather impressive. Â As the wife isn't a big wine drinker, I didn't opt to order any.
The cost was kind of high for what we got, but when you consider you're paying for the ambiance and then fresh, sustainable, local ingredients, with a northern Italian influence, rather than the usual, commercial southern Italian style, it is what it is. Â We enjoyed it enough that we would go again. Â We'd just try a couple of different things, such as a better appetizer (their fresh mozzarella and bread sounded good) and my wife saw a few other entrees she thought would be good that she'd like to try.
If you like good Italian that is different than most Americanized, watered-down versions, this is a place to take a look at.
Oh, and if I did go for lunch or something, the wine counter has a great view of the chefs cooking everything up in the open. Â Nothing hidden here, no "fresh-frozen" items boiling in water. Â They're very up front about what they do and how they do it. Â That scores points for me.
Salut!
I really enjoyed our dinner at Osteria Sfizio.
The food was delicious. Â I had the bucatini puttanesca, which rivalled my own (and that is saying something), with a light but flavorful sauce and just the right level of heat. Â The Mister ordered the pasta Sfizi (thick shell pasta, fennel sausage, clams, white wine, tomato) - it was exquisite. Â We tried sweetbreads for the first time and they were excellent. Â I found myself repeatedly craning my neck to check out the amazing-looking dishes as they were delivered to our neighbors.
Our waiter was knowledgeable and very enthusiastic. Â He seemed a little overwhelmed after a table of ten was seated in his section (been there), but he still kept it together.
The ambiance is sophisticated but comfortable at the same time. Â The modern architecture is balanced nicely by a lot of wood, large windows looking out to the courtyard and lighting that's perfectly subdued without requiring me to squint across the table. Â They were packed on a Tuesday night, but because the dining room is compartmentalized, the sound is busy & exciting without giving me a headache. Â You'd feel comfortable in a jacket, a dress or just jeans. Â But hell, why not all three?
Cost wise, we paid $54 + tip for a decent glass of red, a perfectly-made martini (an unfortunate rarity), an appetizer and two entrees of pasta (we each ordered the smaller portions, which was plenty).
I think this is a perfect choice for a date or for a business lunch.
But can you do me a favor, O.S.? Â Please put some doors on the bathrooms. Â Some architect probably thought it was chic, but it's really ridiculous. Â A table of fellow diners watches you enter a stall (there are no urinals for men), and when you exit after doing your sinful business, servers are whipping by in the hallway.
I cannot believe this place is in Eugene! Â Not to hate on Eugene, but Osteria has a very....metropolitan feel about it; which doesn't quite fit Eugene.
However, if you are longing for a place that can give you a taste of the big city, then this is it! Â I felt like I was in San Francisco again! *swoon*. Â
Sfizio is moderate to high in the pricing, but everything that I had there was amazing and worth the price! Â
Highlights:
- Complimentary sparkling water!
- Romantic ambiance.
- The koshi oysters are DELICIOUS!
Lowlights:
- No free bread!
If you decide to eat here, I suggest reservations. Â It was packed!
***Hold on, Friends. The review below is for Osteria Sfizio, not the new Ox and Fin.***
I'd heard the mixed reviews for this place, but with handmade pasta and a commitment to sustainability--what's not to love? Boy, was I right.
Headed to Sfizio for our date night this week and were not disappointed. They were already busy when we made our reservation, so we had to eat early (@6pm). Jeez, this is making us sound ancient!
At any rate, as a twosome the table selections are pretty limited. If you've been here, you'll know which ones I'm talking about: the bench seating, two on a single side, setup. It actually wasn't as awkward as I thought it was going to be. Â The bench seats are comfortable, and the view is nice. It gets a little busy when servers are really zooming, but all very tolerable.
We started with the Chef's choice antipasti at $8 per person. I was slightly disappointed when it arrived, as it's pretty much just a sampler platter of the appetizers that are listed on the menu. I was hoping for something fresh, whimsical, and a bit more personal. According to our server, this is the standard offering. But no matter, the food was great. We had sizeable amounts of four different apps: fried oysters, marinated mushrooms, an apple/speck/hazelnut salad, and fried corona beans. It's tough to pick a favorite, but I thought those corona beans were pretty magical.
Next was the house green salad (PERFECTLY dressed!), and then off to the entrées. I had the half-order of Puttanesca, Mister M had a manly lamb shank with farro. Our meals were excellent. My pasta was cooked exactly right, and the sauce was un-sharable (sorry, hubs). We accompanied both of our meals with Benton Lane Pinot Noir, get this--from the tap! That's right, the Noir from Benton is the house red here and they are able to be super-cost effective and sustainable with it by serving from the keg. I love it!
With the apps, the half-order was still too much so we had leftovers and elected to sip coffee instead of indulge our hankering for a full dessert. Espressos were perfectly made and a nice treat.
The prices are incredibly reasonable. Our experience cost a mere $72 (pre-tip). The menu is clearly designed to be explored and I appreciate that.
My fifth star is reserved on this one because of ambiance. I know, I know. I'm a nostalgic snob. But there's just something about having to park in a massive parking lot and walk through a strip mall to get to my dinner spot. I long for the day when I can walk from home or easily take a bus to a restaurant in my downtown. My second complaint is one that the restaurant could do something about--and that's kill the "genre: alternative" Pandora when there are diners. I'm sure the music would have been next to unnoticeable if we were seated in any other spot, but it was pretty tedious for us lobby-dwellers.
Otherwise, great job. We'll definitely be back.
I visited Osteria Sfizio for the first time today, and I procured the lasagna. It was piping hot with a mound of mushrooms (chanterelle perhaps?) surrounding it. I also obtained an order of donuts (which were actually more like donut holes) with a tasty little dish of dipping sauce. My waitress was very pleasant and attentive and the owner wandered over to chat and see how I liked my dinner. I'll be back.
My only criticism? The menu is in Italian. I don't speak Italian. Fortunately, the waitress was gracious enough to explain a few key items.
Excellent food and beautiful restaurant. Â We had one omnivore and two vegetarians in our party, and the menu was diverse enough to accommodate all of us. Â The salads are hands down the best I've had in Eugene. Â We had the roasted beet salad with gorgonzola and hazelnuts, an heirloom tomato and watermelon salad, a cucumber and tomato salad with buttermilk dressing, and a caprese salad with the best burrata (a type of fresh soft mozzarella) I've ever had shipped from a cheesemaker in southern California. Â Our omnivore enjoyed the little gem salad which looked like a caesar and had anchovy in it.
The pasta is good, but haven't been blown away by it thus far - have tried the rigatoni and the bucatini, and though all the pasta is hand-made, you really can't tell with those two types of pasta. Â Other types might show it off better. Â The omnivore in our group liked the pappardelle and the squid ink linguini, but hard to comment on those, since I didn't try either. Â The tomato sauce on the rigatoni was delicious (wish there was more of it on the dish), but the pasta itself has been better at Marche, Excelsior Inn and Beppe & Gianni's. Â We haven't had a chance to try the ravioli though - it's been sold out each time we've been, so that must be one of the best dishes. Â We'll try it as soon as we visit when it's in stock.
Buttermilk onion rings and corn are outstanding, and mushroom burger was very good.  Desserts were good, and  love the fresh squeezed juices available. Â
My favorite thing about this restaurant was how fresh everything tasted, particularly the veggies. Â The salad fixings tasted as if it had just been picked from the garden. Â Nothing was too heavy or greasy or oily, which was nice. Â When they ran out of their main vegetarian pasta, the chef improvised and made another vegetarian pasta for me, which was very nice. Â They also have lots of vegetable side dishes. Â I loved the sweet corn and thyme. Â As a vegetarian, I wouldn't hesitate to come here.
Second favorite thing was how nice the space is - it's an open and airy restaurant with high ceilings, beautiful woodwork and bar, and lovely modern bathrooms. Â We visited on a Saturday night where the band was playing outdoors, and it was just enough to enjoy it but not be too loud as to dominate conversation. Â
Service was excellent - everyone was very friendly, and even though they were busy, we had three people asking to make sure we got seated right away. Â
We'll definitely come back, and it will be a fun place to take relatives and larger groups as well. Â Oh, and it's open late, a nice and rare thing for Eugene.
If you watch foodie TV shows like Molto Mario, you watch the chef whip something up on TV that looks like it should taste absolutely scrumptious. Â Watch enough of that kind of TV show and you'll be hungry enough to eat anything...LOL! Â Still, your curiosity is piqued and you wonder how it will actually taste.
Osteria Sfizio does not mean Austere Fizz in English. Â I have no idea what it really means but there is noting austere about the modern interior but you can get a fizzy big glass bottle of water set right on your table or if you like your water plain, they'll also serve it up in a pretty glass container that holds plenty for the meal that is coming.
Appetizers: My friend ordered up a plate of olives while I went for the bread with olive oil and what looks to be Italian soy sauce (it's black and seasoned) poured on a flat plate to dip the bread into. Â He got three kinds of olives to nosh on while we shared the bread, which had the pieces sliced in half to make for a total of seven pieces. Â Sfizio's bread appears home made. Â The crust is crusty without being rock-hard and the doughy part had a nice chewiness and texture without turning into flour paste in one's mouth. Â Dipping the bread into the provided olive oil and black sauce was a tasty treat indeed. Â We saved some of the olives and bread to enjoy with our meal.
The dinner: We ordered up a game hen and a pasta dish, rigatoni with tomato sauce and Italian sausage. Â One bite into the game hen was enough to convince me that Sfizio's cooks know how to season something up to the point that it tastes "wow moment!" great without killing the dish by overdoing it. Â The pasta dish was about subtlety in spicing and it was an enjoyable treat to eat it along with the game hen. Â The thin slices of garlic added a nice touch for both appearance and taste in the rigatoni. Â You can eat this meal and still go back to being around people without worry. Â
Portion sizes are good, enough to eat but not so much that you will get too stuffed. Â It will be tempting to fill yourself up since the food does taste quite nice! Â We both walked out feeling like we had eaten the right amount.
As I walked past the bar on my way to the bathroom to wash my hands after eating, I noticed a lady with what appeared to be a light tempura batter plate of veggies. Â I asked her what they were and she said "Onion rings!". Â Those have to be the best looking onion rings I have ever seen and did they smell delicious!
Now we are both very interested in going back and trying out some more dishes to get better acquainted with Sfizio's. Â What looked good on TV foodie shows featuring Italian cuisine turned out to live up to all the expectations and then some! Â If you go eat with a large group, order up the larger sizes of dishes and set up a wide variety as part of the order so everyone can have a chance to sample the goodness. Â Make a real feast of it, knock yourself out and enjoy some la dolce vita at Sfizio's!
A brand new Italian restaurant has popped into Oakway Mall.  Owned by Marche's former executive chef (Rocky Maselli), Sfizio isn't your classic Italian restaurant  instead it brings what I like to call New Italian cuisine to Eugene!   By combining the Willamete Valley's finest local ingrediants with new style techniques Eugene diners are treated to exciting and new dishes to tantilize their palates.  A menu full of wonderful Italian style "tapas", homemade pasta dishes, main entrees and sides.
Beautiful interior modern decor, stellar drinks and service completed the ambiance! Â Also, I also highly recommend diners to get a table at the bar so that you can see the kitchen and bar in full action. Â It has to be the best seats in the house! Â Â As we watched the kitchen in action we could see that each dish was carefully prepared and plated beautifully and appitizing to the diners.
Sfizio is a brilliantly delightful and tasty addition to Eugene's culinary masterpieces!
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